Riot Games hires culture tsar who fixed Uber’s broken culture

Riot Games next step in dealing with its much-discussed culture problems is to bring in an advisor to its executive team. And it looks to have made a strong choice in Frances Frei, a Harvard academic credited with cleaning up the company culture issues at no less than Uber.

The broader clean-up at Uber eventually removed CEO Travis Kalanick and though that can’t be linked directly to Frei’s work there, it shows that sometimes big changes at the top are needed to progress.

In a statement Riot said: “Throughout her career, Frances has helped many companies evolve and navigate change to achieve their full potential, and we’re humbled that she’s chosen to work with us.”

Frei left the ride-sharing company back in February of this year and has been working on developing a leadership programme for women and underrepresented minorities in the meantime. Something that by recent accounts, initially from Kotaku, Riot could certainly use.

“After spending time with Riot’s leadership and many others across the organization, it became clear that Riot is truly putting everything on the table and committing to evolving its culture,” Frei was quoted in a Riot statement.

“In my interactions with Rioters, I’ve seen extraordinary levels of engagement on these issues across the company. Every Rioter with whom I’ve met truly cares about inclusion, which means real change is possible. Riot isn’t interested simply in fixing problems on the surface, it has the ambition to be an industry leader and to provide a roadmap for others to follow. I share that ambition and am eager to help Riot navigate this process.”